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Topic: 2006 American International Toy Fair (Read 13043 times)

I see where you are coming from, but it looks like those two rock pieces on the side are interchangeable/can be moved off of it, and the front Mustafar rock is clearly removable. Take those away from it, and picture Palpatine and characters that belong in the setting, then it's not so random. More of a diorama piece than a playset, which to me is great.

Since it seems the majority of people are against any sort of diorama type playsets (which really does shock me), I tried to make a quick mock up of how I envision a fairly inexpensive playset to look, in a diorama-esque fashion. Priced in the $30.00 range. This is kind of how I think that Pride Displays set can look if you just take off the rocky formations.

Any news coming out of UK Toy Fair from Hasbro? I was hunting tonight with a friend and NPR was interviewing manufacts about developing and selling toys. I'll have to look around for some info I guess. One interesting point that was made though, was that it is getting more and more difficult for toy companies to sell "dolls" or "action figures" because kids are getting older at a younger age and wanting computer, dvd, and other electronic stuff at a much younger age.

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"For too long gentleness has been equated with weakness. Yet it takes more strength to be gentle than to be mean."

That's been a steadily growing trend Jay, really... Since I started really focusing my business study on the toy industry years ago, at the start of things like tech really infringing on the Toy Industry's turf, it really is showing a shift in the point where kids "grow out" of things like traditional toys.

Boys are easier to string along though... In my own experiences with kids outside my immediate family's, I've noticed that tech doesn't take hold of boys as much... Or as totally perhaps I should say. They can revert to toys like Legos, or action figures, or role-play items like sabers and whatnot. They still want video games at the end of the day and I think that will continue as long as VG's exist, but at the same time boys (perhaps because of their inheritly slower maturity rates) cling to more traditional toys more than girls.

The girls market is really hit hard, and despite Mattel's efforts to sugarcoat losses in girl's markets they've dominated for decades, they really have a much more narrow window to work with. It's really quite interesting stuff as it sort of follows America's society as a whole... It's also interesting to see how despite supposedly "maturing" faster, kids are generally less responsible today, and in part due to tech being such a focus in their lives. It's fun to read up on if you're as boring as I am.

One of the fun things about toys though is that they actually gain a foothold in older, more adult demographics as this tech boom's encroached on the industry, and the adults have the disposeable income... Toys of ALL types are being geared at these people with lots of $$$ to spend, like all these throwback sportscars coming out from the big 3, high-end electronics, and now traditional toys for adults trying to recapture childhood... I wonder where Hasbro views these trends and things though? They say a lot, but I'm sure being a fly on the wall of internal discussions there would be interesting beyond what a lot of people may think.

I'd just like to say that this year's Toy Fair motto ("Where Play Meets Profit") fits Hasbro perfectly. They play around with collectors by releasing subpar or repainted figures which we buy anyway, giving Hasbro a huge profit.

So Toy Fair is this weekend, and I'm not expecting much from Hasbro. Maybe prototypes from a new wave, and info on the Bounty Hunt figures, but that's about it.

Here's a suggestion for Hasbro. They know these fan sites attend and take lots of pictures. They should have a loose set independant of the display and give the various sites one on one time with them to really check them out, pose them, and take good photos. The better a figure is, the more hype it's going to get, translating into more sales.

I can believe it. They have been repacking other garbage like Jango and the 3PO with the Battle droid head. Why wouldn't they continue to do so? Cheap @sses. The R5D4 looks good, though. I want to see a closer shot of the Jedi Luke. Hopefully he has better hands than the Jabba's Palace one. A skirt that allows for posability would be nice, too.